


The Silver Anniversary of Lois McMaster Bujold in Double Dactyls

by Bracketyjack



Category: BUJOLD Lois McMaster - Works, Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold, Sharing Knife - Lois McMaster Bujold, Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Double dactyls, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-01
Updated: 2012-05-01
Packaged: 2017-11-04 16:25:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/395824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracketyjack/pseuds/Bracketyjack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summaries of all LMB's books (Vorkosiverse, Chalionverse, Wide Green World, Spirit Ring) in double dactyls, written for the silver anniversary of the publication of Shards of Honor in 2011. Now includes <em>Penric's Demon</em>, <em>Penric and the Shaman</em>, and <em>Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Silver Anniversary of Lois McMaster Bujold in Double Dactyls

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obeying the rules reasonably strictly (though neologising for some of the required hexasyllables), so those unfamiliar with the double dactyl as a form might wish to see the [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_dactyl) on the subject first.

_The Vorkosigan Saga_

Spacily, racily,  
Captain Cordelia  
hooks up with Aral and  
rumbles a plot.

Morally action-packed  
imperiosity  
twisting with grace-notes, all  
served piping hot.

 

Regency, agency,  
Aral Vorkosigan,  
father to all but a  
husband to one,

fights with Vordarian.  
Materna-violent,  
Captain Cordelia  
shops till he’s done.

 

Callowly, sallowly,  
Master Vorkosigan  
fails his physical,  
does for Piotr.

Needing to prove himself  
paternalistically,  
founds the Dendarii and  
foils a plotr.

 

Dashingly, swashingly,  
young Lord Vorkosigan  
finds himself sent off to  
judge in the hills.

Learning how best to be  
inquisitorial,  
fast-pentas Mara and  
sees how love kills.

 

Graduate, schmaduate,  
Ensign Vorkosigan  
learns about drains as he  
hungers for space.

Gets there, saves Gregor, and  
ultra-improbably  
forestalls a war by im-  
perial grace.

 

Diplomat, VIP-lomat,  
Envoy Vorkosigan  
stumbles on mayhem and  
thinks “What the heck!” ;

falls for the Empress and  
crypto-romantically  
aided by Ivan saves  
everyone’s neck.

 

Masculine, vasculine,  
Ethan of Athos goes  
offworld to buy some new  
viable eggs—

runs into Elli and  
Ceta-duplicity  
following Terrence, but  
finds his Cee-legs.

 

Venturesome, wenchersome,  
Admiral Naismith goes  
off on a mission to  
rescue a man,

does so, and also saves  
musicoquadrabrach  
Nicol and giantess  
Taura. Wham Bam!

 

PoW-ishly, wowishly,  
agent Vorkosigan  
infiltrates prison on  
Dagoola IV,

finds his own Beatrice, and  
Pilgrims’-Progressively  
rescues ten thousand, but  
she’s out the door.

 

Runningly, cunningly,  
Admiral Naismith flees  
Cetas pursuing him,  
bumps into Mark—

total confusion reigns  
polyfraternally ;  
only Ser Galen is  
left in the dark.

 

Dwarfishly, morphishly,  
Miles Vorkosigan  
gets himself killed while o-  
mitting to die.

Cloning and body-mod  
unschitzophrenically  
reify two of him :  
both wonder why.

 

Fittingly, twittingly,  
mercenary admiral  
Naismith is foresworn and  
out on his ear—

lost but unbribable,  
Vorkosiganity  
helps him save Illyan and  
gain a career.

 

Domily, homily,  
Miles meets Ekaterin,  
niece of his mentor and  
married to Tien ;

has to remain very  
Lord-Auditorial ;  
needn’t have worried as  
she gets his men.

 

Plottily, dottily,  
widowed Ekaterin  
finds herself suckered by  
Miles in love—

René is rescued and  
transgenderifically  
Dono inherits while  
bugs soar above!

 

Nuptially, puptially,  
Miles’s wedding draws  
Taura and others as  
moths to a star ;

poison is plotted but  
polyspectroscopy  
saves bold Ekaterin.  
Roic goes far.

 

Honeymoon, schmoneymoon—  
Miles must investigate  
trouble in Quaddiespace,  
turns up a plot,

gets himself poisoned and  
ambassadorial  
Lady Vorkosigan  
takes her best shot.

 

Gallantly, talently,  
Ivan Vorpatril falls  
heels over head into  
marriage with Tej ;

muddles to triumph and  
bioexpansively  
undermines ImpSec H  
Q on his way.

 

Dreamily, screamily,  
Miles Vorkosigan  
flees through the cryocombs ;  
treacheries mount ;

stays with Jin Sato, while  
cryorevivalry  
sinks White Crysanthemum.  
Hail to the Count.

 

Cryogene, triogene,  
widowed Cordelia  
offers slash babies from  
Aral to Jole,

leaving that gentleman  
hyperencroggledly  
welcoming fatherhood  
and a new role.

 

 

_Falling Free_

Foursomely, moresomely,  
meet the cute Quaddie kids,  
made then discarded for  
profit alone.

Engineer Leo Graf  
pro-nondestructively  
helps them escape and to  
found a new home.

 

_The Spirit Ring_

Weddingly, deadingly,  
young Fiametta finds  
life as an orphan is  
stressfully fraught.

As the plot thickens, a  
kobold-lactatingly  
vivified statue does  
all that it ought.

 

_The Chalionverse_

Brokenly, tokenly,  
Caz goes Valenda-ward,  
finding a god-path he  
thought he had lost ;

cannot save Teidez, but  
hagiologically  
triumphs for Iselle at  
personal cost.

 

Bastardly, dastardly,  
dowager Ista goes  
off on a pilgrimage,  
not caring where.

Guided to Porifors,  
demonophagical  
mastery makes her end  
Illvin’s despair.

 

Shamanish, laymanish,  
Ingrey kin Wolfcliff takes  
Lady Ijada to  
plead for her life.

Blessed as the Hallow King,  
quasi-lycanthropy  
frees long-dead spirits and  
wins him a wife.

 

Bumblesome, humblesome,  
Penric is affianced,  
loses the girl, gets  
a demon instead --

hot Desdemona, whom  
theophanatically  
championing wins him twelve  
wives in one head.

 

Mystery, history,  
Inglis kin Wolfcliff runs,  
burdened with soul-knife and  
twice scared to death ;

Oswyl and Penric-Des,  
deovoluntasish,  
rescue Scuolla and  
gift all with breath.

 

 

_The Sharing Knife_

Pregnantly, begnantly,  
little Fawn Bluefield (Miss)  
falls in with bandits, a  
malice, and Dag.

Sharing her baby’s death  
makes of their bonding a  
neomiscegenate  
Lakefarmer flag.

 

Hopefully, schmopefully,  
Bluefield and Redwing go  
visiting Hickory,  
stirring the pot :

Cumbia shows herself  
carcinomatriarch ;  
Dag suffers Greenspring, a-  
bandons the lot.

 

Travelling, ravelling,  
Berry and Whitesmith take  
all on the _Fetch_ down the  
Grace to the Grey.

Lakewalker renegade  
Something Crane Log Hollow  
involuntarily  
shows Dag the way.

 

Prettily, wittily,  
groundsetter Arkady  
joins the return leg, and  
takes Dag in hand.

Whit _in extremis_ slays  
cross-toxophilically  
ravening malice-bat—  
new hope is grand!


End file.
